In conjunction with the change of ownership in ICA AB in 2000 the former owners of ICA AB were offered the opportunity to subscribe for shares in ICA Förbundet Invest. After the issue, the Association of ICA Retailers owned 75% of the shares in ICA Förbundet Invest and the remaining 25% were owned by ICA retailers and former ICA retailers.
In 2005, ICA Förbundet Invest changed its name to Hakon Invest ahead of the IPO. Hakon Invest was listed on the Stockholm Stock Exchange’s O list on 8 December 2005.
Stock Exchange listing 2005
At Hakon Invest’s Annual General Meeting in 2005 a decision was taken to apply to list Hakon Invest on the Stockholm Stock Exchange. The intention was, with the aid of liquid and market-priced shares, to secure a favourable long-term ownership structure and access to the capital market.
At the same time, Hakon Invest’s operational strategy was broadened, with a continued significant ownership influence in ICA AB and the ICA Idea as the foundation, to include active and long-term investment operations with a focus on retail companies.
Name change and new share structure
The name change to Hakon Invest marked a step towards clarification of the Company’s new direction and that its operations were separate from ICA AB. Ahead of the listing on the Stockholm Stock Exchange on 8 December 2005, a new share structure was established with ordinary shares and C shares. The C shares, unlike ordinary shares, were not listed and had no carry entitlement to a cash dividend. In 2013, ICA Gruppen implemented a rights issue of SEK 5 billion through the issuance of 40,229,359 new ordinary shares. The number of ordinary shares amounted to 119,078,903 after the issue. The number of C shares remained unchanged at 82,067,892, and represented 41% of the total number of shares. The remaining 59% were listed ordinary shares.
Hakon Invest becomes ICA Gruppen
In February 2013, Hakon Invest concluded an agreement with Ahold to acquire the remaining 60% of the shares in ICA, which meant that ICA became wholly owned by Hakon Invest. In order to reflect the Group’s focus on ICA and ICA-related operations, a decision was taken to change the name of Hakon Invest to ICA Gruppen at the Annual General Meeting in May 2013.
In conjunction with the acquisition of ICA, the Association of ICA Retailers reduced its holding in ICA Gruppen from 67.3% to 51.3%, partly through the sale of a 10% shareholding to Industrivärden and partly through sales to institutional investors. The Association of ICA Retailers has subsequently established a long-term level for its ownership share of ICA Gruppen.
In November 2018 Industrivärden divested some of its holdings in ICA Gruppen to the Association of ICA Retailers. After the divestment Industrivärdens holdings amounted to 7.5% and the Association of ICA Retailers holdings to 54%.
C shares converted
The company’s Articles of Association stipulate that, at the request of shareholders, C shares shall be converted to ordinary shares and that a conversion may take place not earlier than in January 2016. ICA-handlarnas förbund, which owns all of the C shares, made such a request on January 1st2011 and therefore all C shares were converted into ordinary shares in January 2016. The conversion meant that all outstanding shares ICA Gruppen gave a right to a cash dividend from the financial year 2016.
